Should College Athletes Get Paid?

        People have debated whether or not college athletes should be paid for a long time. There are good arguments for either side of this argument. In the end, it would be for the best that college athletes do get paid. Yes, they do get money already off their education, but why should they have a little spending cash? These athletes are not able to work because for most sports it is full time. These athletes are not able to make any extra money while playing these sports. They are still normal people. These athletes need to have money to buy food, clothes, and even just things that they want.

         The main argument against college athletes making money is that they are already getting "paid" (scholarships), so why should they get even more money? People say they would be paid too much money since they are already getting paid for their education. In certain places, government officials have already ruled that football players are employees of the university, not student athletes. In this case, they would be able to form a union and fight for certain working conditions. If this were the case, they could make the case to be paid for the time they put into the sport.
     
        Not all athletes that go to college are rich and can just be given money by their parents. They need a source of money, and they shouldn't have to worry about making a decision to either play their sport, or work. They put in a lot more time and effort more than someone does sitting in McDonalds flipping burgers. Now they should not make the amount of money anywhere close to NFL player do. For football and basketball, there is a ton of money that is produced from the events. They should at least be paid a percentage of what money their events are bringing to the college. If not, have some rate per game, or even an hourly pay at minimum wage. Give them something that allows them to have some extra money to spend on things they need and want.

        College athletes should not be worrying whether or not they have enough money to eat. Money doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Normal students and athletes alike should not have to rely on their parents for money. The only difference is most athletes are unable to work due to the amount of time their sport takes up. Basketball and football even  bring in money for the college, so the people who make the events happen (athletes) should get a percentage or share of the revenue.